10 things I learned while writing a sequel

25 April 2012

The experience of completing my first draft of TAKEN’s sequel has come with many ups and downs. The simplest thing I can say is this: Book Twos are strange beasts. Strange, strange beasts.

My experience is not universal, but I do know a handful of writers that faced some of the same struggles (and epiphanies) as me while writing Book Two. I thought I’d share a few things that stood out in my mind…

 

1 — You can do it.

Everything is impossible until it’s done. Somehow, you will reach the end. If you keep sitting down, if you keep plowing forward, if you don’t give up, the novel will get written. It might be hell getting there, but you’ll finish.

 

2 — But it will suck.

If your process is anything like mine, you will go from copy-edited, perfectly punctuated, grammatically correct and fully edited Book One to the blank page. It’s going to be a shock when you realize that everything you type is a mess. Let me repeat that: It is going to be a mess. If you can write a well paced novel with clean, flowing prose, no plot holes, pitch-perfect character arcs, and zero typos on the first try, I want whatever you’re on. Now.

 

3 — But you can make it better.

That’s the whole point of revising. So power through, finish that messy first draft, and then worry about all the nitty-gritty details.

 

4 — The pressure is often self-inflicted.

I felt a lot of pressure while drafting book two. Pressure to not suck. Pressure to be perfect. Pressure to include twists and turns and gorgeous prose, and pressure to not disappoint. I didn’t want to let my agent down. Or my editor and publisher. Here’s the truth: I was my own worst enemy. No one was putting these pressures on me except for myself. Once I realized that, I was able to shove that doubting, negative voice to the back of my head and focus on the draft.

 

5 — Procrastination is the root of all evil.

A no-brainer, but a truth. That book is not going to write itself. Get off twitter. Stop checking your email. Who cares about those pins or tumblogs or whether or not your books been added to another goodreads shelf! Kill your internet and write your damn book.

 

6 — Things are quiet for a reason.

Piggybacking off #5, stop checking your email. Seriously. The reason you haven’t heard from your editor in six weeks is because she wants you to be writing your book. You know…that sequel she expects to have in her hands when your deadline arrives. So quit worrying about why your inbox isn’t bursting with messages from her. She doesn’t hate you. Your deal hasn’t been canceled or dropped. She’s giving you some quiet, uninterrupted time to focus. Use it. Appreciate it. I doubt it will be the same when book one is out in the world and you’re drafting book three.

 

7 — Throw it all on the page.

Unless you already know, deep down, that an idea is wrong, get it on paper. I threw a million ideas on the page when I drafted book two. I’d rather have too much than not enough. I’d rather give my readers and editor more to react to than less. You don’t know if something is right until you try it. So try everything.

 

8 — The ending might kill you.

I rewrote the ending to book two four different times before I was happy with my initial draft. Four. Times. This may be because my book two is the second in a trilogy. I’m setting things up for the final showdown, but still trying to have a complete and fulfilling novel on it’s own (you know how I hate cliffhangers!). Each book needs an arc, but so does the series. I knew this subconsciously going in, but when I faced it head on, rewriting and rewriting and rewriting, I sort of wanted to cry.

 

9 — You’re still scared it sucks.

Good. This means you care. This means you want your novel to be the very best in can be. If you’re not scared you’re doing something wrong.

 

10 — Writing is hard.

Having completed book one didn’t make book two come any easier. Writing is a demanding, challenging, trying thing. It’s hard and always will be. But that’s sort of why I love it.

 

—

 

Posted in Writing and tagged with , ,

  • Elsie Chapman

    Erin, I love this post. I’m in the middle of writing my sequel now, and I’m finding myself nodding along with every single point. Thanks for laying it all out there and straightening out the crazy!

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Did I straighten out the crazy? I had no idea. I still feel pretty out of it over on this end ;)

      But I am glad it helped! Sequels are a strange beast. Good luck with yours!

  • Kittscher

    Words of tough love and inspiration! As I dive into my sequel, I’m happy to have this post. But wait..I shouldn’t be on the internet…

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

       Haha. The internet is going to be the downfall of us all! Good luck with the sequel! :)

  • http://www.thewordsonpaper.blogspot.com Tracey Neithercott

    This is great. Not that I’m writing a sequel or anything, but I think it applies to unpublished writers who have finished one story and are working on another. Also, this made me laugh: “If you can write a well paced novel with clean, flowing prose, no plot holes, pitch-perfect character arcs, and zero typos on the first try, I want whatever you’re on.” Me too.

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Tracey, you are so right. This can really apply to anyone sitting down to write their second book. (And yeah, I need that drug that produces perfect first drafts. I need it like whoa.)

  • AmyGarvey

    Here’s the truth: I was my own worst enemy. No one was putting these pressures on me except for myself.
    Oh boy, do I know this one. Great piece, lady! 

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Thanks, Amy! And yeah…the pressures us writers put on our own shoulders. *shakes head*

  • Lydia K

    This is brilliant, and you are echoing every last issue I’ve been dealing with. I may have to pay you to be my sequel psychotherapist!

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      If you’re paying, I will gladly help out with the therapy ;)

  • Chelsey flood

    Hiya Erin,

    I loved this post, it made me feel better about my struggles with book 2. Congratulations on getting your sequel finished!

    Chelsey

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Thanks Chelsey! Good luck with your book two!

  • Kat Drennan

    Thanks, Erin
    When I neared the end of my Fantasy creation and realized what I’d written really demanded to be a trilogy…I stopped writing.  The first one took so much energy and will I just couldn’t face the prospect that finishing it meant diving into a sequal.  This post gave me some courage.  Thanks.

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Thanks, Kat. I’m so glad the post was encouraging!

  • Meagan Spooner

    Yes. This. 

    I really think that the only thing keeping me even remotely sane as I write book two is that I know other writers are going through, have gone through, and will go through the EXACT same thing.

    Wonderful post. (Especially the bit about self-inflicted pressure. Um. Yes.)

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Such a good point, Meg. Knowing other writers are having the same struggles has definitely helped me get through the low points.

  • http://katyupperman.com/ Katy Upperman

    Love #2, love #10. Two of the greatest truths in writing, I think. Though I’m nowhere near sequel stage (not sure if I’ll ever have the urge to write something that’s not stand-alone), this is great advice for all of us, no matter what phase of the process we’re in. Great post, Erin, as usual!

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Thanks, Katy! And you’re right– this stuff can be applied to writing in general, I think. For some reason it just seemed so clear at the end of drafting this novel. :)

  • Ryan Graudin

    Going through very similar processes with my WIPs (which aren’t sequels, I’m waiting until summer to tackle that piece of work…). Funny how that is, no?

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Someone else pointed out how this list can be applied to almost any writing project, which I think is totally true. Good luck on the WIPs! :)

  • http://davidjfuller.wordpress.com/ David Jon Fuller

    Very funny, scary, heartening post.  I am not even at sequel stage yet but I am planning for it. Gah. Once I finish the book I’m working on. This does tend to confirm my suspicion that after spending years on your first book, the second is still no walk in the park.  I look forward to being able to blog about this myself one day…

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

       I imagine the third, fourth, fifth book (and so on) won’t get any easier either. Drat. ;)

  • http://twitter.com/_JessicaLove Jessica Love

    I’m not writing a sequel, but I am writing my 2nd book, so I know what you mean. I went from revised until it shone draft to blank page and OMG THAT IS SO WEIRD HOW DO I DO THIS AGAIN? It’s crazy-making.

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Yup! Isn’t it such a shock to stare at the blank page again? Good luck with your book :)

  • Melanie M McCullough

    Love this post. It’s so incredibly honest and funny!

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Thanks so much, Melanie :)

  • http://a-nudge.blogspot.com/ Krispy

    Very succinct way of getting down all the scary bits of writing a sequel! I always wonder what the process is like, so I love hearing about it from people who are actually doing it. It seems terribly daunting! I’ve always thought the middle book would be the hardest because of precisely what you said: it has to link up the other two books but it also has to feel resolved on its own. Glad you made it through!

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Thanks, Alice! And yeah…this middle piece of the trilogy is a scary, stubborn thing. I’m sure I have a long way to go still (w/revisions for my editor), but at least I’m making progress :)

      • http://davidjfuller.wordpress.com/ David Jón Fuller

        I take heart from the fact that some middle pieces that were hell to create sometimes turn out to be brilliant.  Keep hoping for an Empire Strikes Back, and not a Back to the Future II.

  • Kapybara42

    I want to marry this post. That is all.

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      The post is flattered. It’s also blushing. ;)

  • Daisy Carter

    I don’t want to marry this post, like Kapybara42, but I do want to make sweet, sweet love it.

    Did I say that out loud?

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Now the post is really blushing!

  • Peggy Eddleman

    Oh my goodness, yes. I have to keep reminding myself about number one, because sometimes it’s a VERY hard thing to remember!

    • http://embowman.com/ Erin Bowman

      Right? I have to remind myself of it with any piece of writing, truthfully, not just sequels.

  • http://twitter.com/sarahayoub Sarah Ayoub

    Great post Erin! I really enjoyed reading it and a friend sent it to me today because of something I posted on my own blog a few days ago. http://sarahayoub.com/talks-entertainment/conversation-on-pressure-hard-work-and-fears-of-being-a-one-book-wonder Like you, I will be publishing YA with Harper in 2013 and I am now finding writing book #2 is harder than book #1. Good luck with your writing and the release of your book. I look forward to reading more posts.

  • Jaison Black

    Thank you so much for this! I’m doing at least seven of the things on this list that I shouldn’t be doing!

    Knowing other writers have experienced the exact same thing help tremendously.

  • Ode112

    Hi

  • Ode112

    I’m 112 ya know

  • Ode112

    1 pound fish

  • Ode112

    Everything is impossible until it’s done. Somehow, you will reach the end. If you keep sitting down, if you keep plowing forward, if you don’t give up, the novel will get written. It might be hell getting there, but you’ll finish.

  • Ode112

    The experience of completing my first draft of TAKEN’s sequel has come with many ups and downs. The simplest thing I can say is this: Book Twos are strange beasts. Strange, strange beasts.

    My experience is not universal, but I do know a handful of writers that faced some of the same struggles (and epiphanies) as me while writing Book Two. I thought I’d share a few things that stood out in my mind…

    1 — You can do it.

    Everything is impossible until it’s done. Somehow, you will reach the end. If you keep sitting down, if you keep plowing forward, if you don’t give up, the novel will get written. It might be hell getting there, but you’ll finish.

    2 — But it will suck.

    If your process is anything like mine, you will go from copy-edited, perfectly punctuated, grammatically correct and fully edited Book One to the blank page. It’s going to be a shock when you realize that everything you type is a mess. Let me repeat that: It is going to be a mess. If you can write a well paced novel with clean, flowing prose, no plot holes, pitch-perfect character arcs, and zero typos on the first try, I want whatever you’re on. Now.

    3 — But you can make it better.

    That’s the whole point of revising. So power through, finish that messy first draft, and then worry about all the nitty-gritty details.

    4 — The pressure is often self-inflicted.

    I felt a lot of pressure while drafting book two. Pressure to not suck. Pressure to be perfect. Pressure to include twists and turns and gorgeous prose, and pressure to not disappoint. I didn’t want to let my agent down. Or my editor and publisher. Here’s the truth: I was my own worst enemy. No one was putting these pressures on me except for myself. Once I realized that, I was able to shove that doubting, negative voice to the back of my head and focus on the draft.

    5 — Procrastination is the root of all evil.

    A no-brainer, but a truth. That book is not going to write itself. Get off twitter. Stop checking your email. Who cares about those pins or tumblogs or whether or not your books been added to another goodreads shelf! Kill your internet and write your damn book.

    6 — Things are quiet for a reason.

    Piggybacking off #5, stop checking your email. Seriously. The reason you haven’t heard from your editor in six weeks is because she wants you to be writing your book. You know…that sequel she expects to have in her hands when your deadline arrives. So quit worrying about why your inbox isn’t bursting with messages from her. She doesn’t hate you. Your deal hasn’t been canceled or dropped. She’s giving you some quiet, uninterrupted time to focus. Use it. Appreciate it. I doubt it will be the same when book one is out in the world and you’re drafting book three.

    7 — Throw it all on the page.

    Unless you already know, deep down, that an idea is wrong, get it on paper. I threw a million ideas on the page when I drafted book two. I’d rather have too much than not enough. I’d rather give my readers and editor more to react to than less. You don’t know if something is right until you try it. So try everything.

    8 — The ending might kill you.

    I rewrote the ending to book two four different times before I was happy with my initial draft. Four. Times. This may be because my book two is the second in a trilogy. I’m setting things up for the final showdown, but still trying to have a complete and fulfilling novel on it’s own (you know how I hate cliffhangers!). Each book needs an arc, but so does the series. I knew this subconsciously going in, but when I faced it head on, rewriting and rewriting and rewriting, I sort of wanted to cry.

    9 — You’re still scared it sucks.

    Good. This means you care. This means you want your novel to be the very best in can be. If you’re not scared you’re doing something wrong.

    10 — Writing is hard.

    Having completed book one didn’t make book two come any easier. Writing is a demanding, challenging, trying thing. It’s hard and always will be. But that’s sort of why I love it.

    —

    Posted in Writing and tagged with drafting, sequels, series

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